An Ed in Need
by HeroineCruor
Summary: Edd finds a helpless girl in the forest on his way home. Will this evolve his friendship with said girl, as well as justify his view on reality? OneShot.


**A/N: I'm glad how this came about. Really, I am. *nods***

**This story focuses how I don't find Edd and Nazz compatible as a couple, but as great friends, and bring out his gentlemanly, sweet side. Yep, this is not a shipfic *beat* NO COME BACK! It does have slight, one-sided Edd/Nazz, but very slightly! Don't leave! Please, at least read nnoooooo...! *Darth Wader voice***

**For some people who read the story I wrote a year ago (which I later removed) you know I used to like Edd/Nazz, but I have changed my opinion after watching later seasons. While I don't hate Nazz, I understand why some people do. She has a pretty flat personality and some dumb blonde traits. **

**But I seriously can't believe some Edd/Marie fans have the nerve to call Nazz a whore when Marie is the one, along with her sisters, who glomps every guy she sees :/**

**I followed my brother's advice to edit it until I don't hate it anymore, and as I said earlier, I don't now :)**

**Go on and read! At least I hope you're staying to do that...Oh yeah, haven't looked for errors. Will change later blah blah.**

**Disclaimer: They all belong to Danny Edward Antonucci. Thank you so much for creating a part of my nostalgia :)**

* * *

"Ugh, why?"

Why had he agreed on doing this, late at night no less? No, the real question was: why did he let Eddy boss him around so much? Why did he have to be so helpful? It was true though that he was able to speak up more often against Eddy in his later years, but still held it's own degree. Sometimes he suspected that he needed someone to control him. Either that, or it was an excuse to occupy himself with anything; his parents rarely left notes nowadays.

The habit of obeying them has started to wear off since then.

Looking up, he watched the crescent moon shine down the path before him, as though it was sympathizing with his dilemma and decided to do something nice to him, or, at least he liked to think that way. The evening summer air was lukewarm and appropriately pleasant.

He accidently stepped on a twig. It made him recoil as he grabbed onto his hat; in which was a little longer than in his childhood, choosing that style for some reason. He worried at first, but then let his some of his silky blonde hair peek out of his hat, some of it in the length of his neck, much to the shock of everyone who hadn't thought he was the least light-haired. His red shirt was replaced with a long-sleeved orange hooded sweatshirt with a black hood, making him look less vulnerable, and the black jacket he wore at the moment made sure to cover it up even more, albeit making him feel too hot.

But don't worry, his facial features were pretty much the same; boyish round and the gap in his teeth that made him look like a child. It had since long been such a matter; he was about to turn 18 soon. God, had he grown up, it made the nostalgic tingles course through his body in missing the scamming, yes; he almost admitted being hated by the others.

Not that it was bad being liked by everyone. It took a while for Kevin, but in the end wore off the habit of calling them dorks. Sarah also had her trials; but learned to openly love her brother after a while. The others hadn't had such a passionate hate for them as Kevin and Sarah, so it had taken them merely a month or so to get used to calling them their friends. It was nice actually; to be able to walk around and not be called out on one's mere existence.

Then why was he complaining? He wasn't sure. Maybe it was the constant swarm of mosquitos in the air which weren't satisifed until every single patch of his skin had been exploited which was momentarily annoying him; he should've bought the cream his mother had advised him for. One of the few things she warned him about.

Eddy wasn't scamming anymore; but that didn't mean he and Ed weren't objects of his demands. Case in Point; last week he had been forced to make him a lying detector machine for lord knows what. This other time he had been persuaded into being his wingman for whatever girl he was dating now. Seriously, it was the only thing he was thinking about; girls. When he himself had suggested a day of enthusiastic studying about Nikola Tesla and his electrifying balls; he had recieved an odd stare from his friend.

Oh yeah, Eddy isn't into that sort of stuff. He forgot.

His train of thought was interrupted by a cold gust of wind, making the effort to curl his arms around himself. He just now acknowledged it was beginning to get colder, for how long had he been walking right now, anyway?

The watch was hard to see in the darkness as he tried to read it; 20:38.

Well, it _was _late, he hadn't been paranoid.

At least he had bought what Eddy wanted, a plant, a funnel, and a pair of scissors (don't ask; he wont finish today with the explanation). So he would call Eddy about it tomorrow morning, now he wanted rest more than anything; his body agreeing by forcing out a yawn.

He kept walking casually, hands in his pockets and whistling with halfhearted effort. Then he heard laughter and talking a bit away. He got startled at first, but nerves quickly calmed down by the fact that it was teenagers partying late at night and were probably drinking stuff they shouldn't be drinking. Was it really that hard to stick to the law? Law said 21; and 21 it was!

For him, he added cynically. For him.

He hadn't stopped walking until his ears perked at a sound. Being somewhat paranoid in darkness, he was growing nervous. He didn't dare to walk so he listened. He listened hard. Perspiration was starting to be felt on his back.

Soon, it wasn't hard to make out the sound.

It was a girl sobbing.

Suddenly, all of his fear had blown away, and was replaced with pity. He didn't know why; but hearing a girl cry always stung his heart, even if the girl in question was the most cruel thing on Earth. It just wasn't natural the way it sounded; choking in the back of the throat, it felt against the advanced construction of the human viscera.

Reminding himself he should write that down later for his medical studies, he followed the sound.

He got closer and closer...and got perplexed to the point of being frozen on the ground he stood on, just looking on at what greeted him.

As far as he registered, it was a girl, but much older than he thought; maybe around his age. The girl in question hadn't noticed him yet, having her face buried in her hands; but it was clear she was crying. She wasn't exactly decorous in her choice of clothing. What he could make out was that she wore a black and white striped skirt, so short they could practically be renamed as female undergarments. Her shirt was a purple blouse being a little too revealing to her pride. In fact, he tried hard not to look down, aware there was a more important issue at hand.

Instinctively to his nice guy persona, he kneeled down, ignoring the fact that he was soiling his brand new trousers.

He reached out his hand so it made contact with her shoulder, noticing it made her twitch. Oh, so she hadn't noticed him, just like he thought.

She looked up, and he instantly lost ability to speak.

"N-Nazz?!" The girl seemed to mirror his surprise.

"Double D?" She choked out, coughing, "What are you doing here?"

"I believe it's my cue." Came his quick response, but felt stupid for saying it as soon as it slipped out. The poor girl was distraught; he could save his snarking for another time.

Fortunately for him, she wasn't bothered the least by it.

Instead just hiding her face again, about to revert to her previous activity. Double D took this opportunity to look her over...in the conditional matter of course! Looking closer, he concluded she had a perfect reason to be sad; not only was she soiled all over, but the poor thing also had bruises on her thing arms, her thighs, and even on her bare midriff.

Without warning, he grabbed her wrist, enticing a reaction from her.

"W-who did this to you?! Nazz?" He stuttered; surprised he managed to get himself to make sense at a moment like this.

No answer, just more sobbing. Maybe she needed to calm down before telling him anything; she looked exhausted, scared, alone. It was something a guy like himself couldn't even dream of leaving in such a state, partly due to his obsession of cleanliness.

And of course, natural compassion for others.

"Come," he ordered, taking her hand in an attempt to make her stand up. She attempted several times to bid to his command, but fell down on the same spot again, though with newfound effort found a way to wobble up to her feet eventually. Upon noticing her wincing and look of pain on her face, he knew that she hadn't felt good doing that.

Now Nazz stood there in the evening air, looking even more vulnerable, shaking in the cold. Her thin arms must do very little to her body heat, for she just kept shaking like a leaf. With some hesitation, for reasons he didn't know, he took off his jacket and handed it to her, sparing her any chances of getting cold.

"Put this on", he hadn't intended it to sound like a demand, but judging from the way she quickly wrapped it around herself, she must have heard it as such. He blushed subtly at the implication that he was ordering her around; it was never his spot in his gang of friends.

Gently did he hold an arm around her shoulder, leading her away from the tree trunks she must have grown attached to. Although the doubt of her being able to walk all the way grew.

"There...be careful so you wont slip. You're dirty and bruised enough as it is." He spoke in a soft tone. It sounded weird how a line like that could be in any way soft.

"Th-thanks." She whispered. A few moments passed as they walked, and she seemed to grow comfortable in the presence of another human being than the one who had given her those bruises, whoever they were.

In obscurity, she was pressing herself closer to his stomach, seeming to want more body heat, and eventually, he didn't feel her shake anymore. He smiled in satisfaction. Good.

"Let's go to my house so I can clean you up." He then said, feeling that he had left her clueless regarding where they were going. She just nodded, and nothing more. And nothing more, it meant that her next proceedings were wobbling more, even more violently at the effort to walk, and almost slipped, which he had warned her about.

Walking in the condition she was in must have done her further in; he had gone on a freetime medical class on weekends so he knew how much bad damage that has been done to her frail body; and worse, her mental state. Seriously, she still seemed completely out of it.

Soon, he heard her start to hum really peacefully, as if a mantra was her way to stay awake, and Double D was fearing she would be collapsing any minute. The fear subsided when he saw his house in the distance, so he hoped silently she could just stay awake the last few feet...

While she didn't faint, it had gone to such a degree that she could barely walk, judging from the way she stopped now and then while walking at a relatively slow pace. So without asking, he picked her up. Unexpectedly, it drew no reaction from her; apparently she was so mentally and physically exhausted she instead appreciated the thoughtful measure.

By snuggling into his chest, she seemed to emphasize this.

He was glad that she was safe now, and with that thought, he approached the porch of his house.

* * *

Nazz came to, the first thing she saw was blur, and the next being the old-fashioned lamp in the ceiling. It didn't take long for her eyes to get used to the dim light, and did the next plausible thing by observing her surroundings.

Next thing she felt, was a painful sting, felt somewhere around her leg area, hissing.

Naturally, she shot a glance in that direction.

"Double D...?" She felt instant warmth spreading in her chest by the sight of her familiar childhood friend, tending tenderly to her wounds and bruises. By the call of his name, he snapped his head up to meet her dizzy gaze.

His face shaded in different colors when he did that.

"N-Nazz...awake, I see." She winced a little when he felt the tissue against her thigh, wondering why he didn't practically faint at such closeness to whom she knew he had had a crush on when they were kids. Sure, he did blush lightly, but not going red as a tomato as she had expected.

Maybe he had grown out of it. She wasn't good at poker.

"Hmm..." she groaned a little at the pain, and whimpered a little uncomfortably when he wrapped a bandage around her leg, slowly and carefully so not to hurt her more than necessary. Looking around a little more, she saw that he had a first aid kit by the foot of the couch she was lying on. It made her smile faintly. Same good Double D, she noticed. Always prepared for every whim.

Then she recalled what had happened, and her stomach churned uneasily and swallowed thickly. Feeling she was about to cry again, she grabbed the blanket she was covered with and reached it up to her eyes. Her breathing got ragged and she then let it all out.

The boy moved his chair closer to her and placed his hand on the top of her head, hushing.

"Sshh, Nazz, you're fine now." He comforted. He wasn't going to lie; he was tremendously curious of what she had gone through, but knew that it wouldn't be a good for her mental state to ask. Besides, it would be hard for her to tell anything what with the hulkings and whimpers that continuously poured out.

What she did next he wasn't prepared for. She threw off the cover and cast herself into his chest; hugging him tightly while soaking his orange shirt with emotional tears.

This came as a surprise to Edd, so it took a while for him to come to his senses and answer her sudden hug, patting her back soothingly. As he slowly floated said hand up and down her back, he just now acknowledged her long blonde hair, put out all over he back; in which smelled like apples and cherry blossoms; it was a loving scent.

Yet, he tried to concentrate on making her calm instead of the fragile, distant memory of what he once felt near his childhood crush.

He didn't know why, but he didn't feel all tingly and flushed over their proximity. It was as if hugging anyone else, like Sarah (not that he had hugged her many times). Even a hug from Ed and Eddy felt more near and meant more to him. While she hugged him, he just felt hollow; when she cried into his chest, he felt compassionate, but not beyond that.

And all of this was very strange.

He could feel little but the sweet scent of her hair.

The next half hour, she cried and cried more, but nothing else. She didn't even offer him a hint of what had happened, just that it had been horrible. He doubted that she had been gang raped; being her bad, but decent ability to walk as a contradiction, coupled with the fact that her biggest bruises were located around her bust. He had told her that she had the luck to only be damaged in the least vital areas; the abdomen, quads and forearms, and just needed to rest her muscles and not to strain them too much. While she didn't speak it in words; he could read by the vicinity and the small smiles here and there that she was indeed grateful for his hospitality.

When he had kept on taking care of her wounds, he could have sworn that she was smiling lovingly at him, and again; he didn't feel thrilled or any of the kind. On account of the effort he saw this, maybe, but all qualms were put to rest when he suddenly felt her hand on his arm; feeling some blood rushing to his face against his will.

Now she must think that he was still crushing on her. He didn't know for certain if he did; but the odds were low, judging from his speculations earlier on that night; and feeling empty in the pit of his stomach when she held him close.

He felt like a monster when he put the words that way, but it was true, it was exactly how he felt.

The question was if he felt bad about it or not.

He felt very little about anything regarding her, actually.

When he was done, he left the room to call her parents. He was ticked off at them for their bad countenance for their own daughter and bad parenting skills, which he strongly suspected was associated with the experiences of his own parents. While they had been decent in terms of taking care of him, there hadn't been enough time for them to look after his social needs, and that was why he was lucky to have Ed and Eddy and appreciated them as his friends, even though they weren't always the smartest or sweetest people around. Their presence had been enough for him, a living emotional crutch; and that's how he realized how much affection he had sought after in his childhood.

This could partly be the reason he felt little for Nazz; because she was merely a girl he used to have a crush on and had little to no impact on the main story of his life.

Mr and Mrs. von Bartonschmeer, aka Nazz's parents, arrived in about 15 minutes, and just his luck, it was the exact time he had managed to make Nazz fall asleep. Double D had been soothing her some hot chocolate, handing her tissues to wipe off her running mascara, and so forth. Yet it had been uneffective in regards to telling him about the incident.

Her mother, who you could see where Nazz got her Beauty from, gave him a bone-crushing hug and showed her recurring gratefulness by patting his arm, almost the **whole time. **He didn't have the heart to tell her off and respect his personal space, since he knew about the more issues to attend to, to bring Nazz to them. Her dad was quiet all the time; seeming to deeply worry about his daughter. Edd decided he liked him more because of that.

The girl was still asleep when her father carried her out to the car, and Double D innerly thanked him forever when he said it was time to go to her mother (who still gave him endless gratitude by constant physical contact). The father also thanked him once, just once, before stepping out to the porch and exchanging their goodbyes with him.

After he heard the car's motor sound fade out in the distance, he chose a late night shower; lord knew where those (Nazz's mom's) hands had been. As he covered himself in shower gel, he let himself dwell on his own family life. Her parents seemed truly concerned about her safety. Yeah, sure, the mom wasn't the most respecting of other's personal space but it was an act out of deep thankfulness to the maintenance he had unhesitantly offered.

Were they that surprised? She was his childhood friend, it was an act out of forethought, and his reputation was that of being nice. Guess it had something to do out of relief, and it was an understandable fact.

He was starting to feel a little jealous. His parents had rarely been there for him in reference to normal communication. He was like a freaking robot maid, and it felt so lonely that it would feel weird to have another presence in the house. It was like an empty residence out of ghost stories one of Ed's comics would be telling about. Ed must be jealous that he was living everyday life like fiction.

Mother and father were good people, but they didn't know the full meaning of parenting, that much he had calculated. Goodness, he shouldn't be thinking about this. It was so scary a teenager was aware of the whereabouts of one's bad parenting skills. If he ever had kids, he would make sure they were never without their father. Ever; but it depended on the situation, of course.

Nazz could be his wife, or Sarah, or even freaking Marie. Whom often depended on how the children would become and how convenient his tending would be.

He shut off the shower and went to bed; realizing again that he had been thinking way too much into this situation. It often happened. But a deep-thinking human was a smart human; which could be partly the reason of his high grades and studious eagerness.

Pulling the cover over himself, he had a strained expression on his face as he mindlessly gazed the window.

It was going to be a long weekend; and it was not a guess, it was a fact, because he felt he was put through pain not knowing what happened to Nazz. Why he was so curious, he didn't really know, to be honest.

Sleep claimed him after that thought.

* * *

"So, Sockhead, did you get you-know-what?" His shorter friend nudged. Edd looked down at him. While he still was the shortest of the three, it didn't seem to bother him much anymore. He still maintained the same hairstyle from childhood, only the hairstraws much thicker and evidently blue. He wore a White scarf he wanted as a trademark for some reason (probably to compensate his sock hat, or to emphasize their different personalities, who knew), and a black leather jacket with equally colored trousers, making him look like a jock like Kevin.

Double D realized he had been staring at a impatient Eddy and answered, rolling his eyes subtly.

"Yeah I got it. You can come get it after school. I called you last saturday, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but it's hard to guess, what with your nervy-thingy-habits or whatever."

"Neurosis, Eddy. A class of functional mental disorders commonly involving distress." He felt himself quip with a smug grin; but then did a double take, noticing his shorter friends smirk at it. Oh, so he made it intentionally, but by knowing him since being small children, he wouldn't put it past him that he figured him out by now.

"W-wait a sec! I don't have neurosis!"

"Yes you do, Janet." Eddy teased, about to laugh at Edd's troubled expression.

Just then Ed barged in, shouting so loudly it could break all the windows in the hallways.

"You have sparkles like vampires, Double D! And gravy fountains!"

Ed was pretty much the same; he had just a little more hair and the undershirt he wore matched his coat better; guess it came naturally to be more fashionable the more the years went.

Edd and Eddy didn't even twitch, since they've had heard his random outbursts since for how long they could remember. Been there, done that.

"Good morning, Ed."

"Mornin', Monobrow."

"Morning guys! Hey, Double D?" Ed asked, turned to said person. Double D smiled sincerely and shuffled the books in his hold to make them be held more comfortably.

"Yes, Ed?"

"There's someone special who would like to talk to you." Ed said that with a mischievous glint in his eye, waking up Double D's guard. For some reason, he knew Ed wasn't going to make him talk to Jib again.

Ed moved out of the way; had apparently hid someone behind his gigantic posture.

Edd's eyes widened as he saw Nazz standing there, almost looking shy, looking down awkwardly. She tipped with her foot against the groun, twirling a hair curl around a finger. With the other hand, she was holding some sort of small package.

Eddy grinned at this, knowing he was going to enjoy the free show, as well as Ed. Double D on the other hand, wasn't sure. At any rate, he didn't feel very displeased.

"H-hi, Double D." She stuttered, still refusing eye contact.

"Uhmm, greetings, Nazz." He smiled as softly as possible, though knowing full well she couldn't see it, "Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

At that, Nazz shot a gaze towards the other Eds. They got the cue, and Eddy disappointingly began to depart to give them privacy. Ed just nodded, respecting that they needed to sort things out and followed after Eddy. Despite being real pains sometimes; they knew darn well when one of them needed to be left alone.

He put full focus on Nazz, whom finally answered his gaze. It hadn't been noticable until now, but she actually wore clothing that covered her all over; a thick sweatshirt and jeans that gripped tightly around her legs, going all the way down to her converse. So decency had kicked in for her, hopefully for the rest of the school year.

"I got grounded for a full week."

Jeepers. So they really were disciplining her for bad behaviour.

"Sooo...when is it starting?" He asked, not knowing what to say next but that.

"Actually today, but they allowed me to come to school to...talk, to you first." She blushed at the last part, looking away again, although still smiling genuinely.

"I...want you to have this. For, you know...helping me out in the hardest times." She shot forward her hand that held the neatly wrapped package, a cute pink bow decorating it. He took it politely and looked it over, admiring the effort she seemed to have put into it; seen from the choice of paper that looked fairly expensive with a cursive message saying _"To Eddward" _on a card taped along with it.

In fact, he was so busy observing it that he was completely unprepared when she gently pulled him towards her by the shirt and placed a very soft peck on his cheek.

She pulled away, smiling, recieving the exact reaction she wanted, of him blushing mad.

"Thank you. Thank you for taking care of me. You're a good guy." She gave him a quick hug, but it gave every last bit of that statement in case he hadn't caught it, and skipped away to were Kevin was standing.

The blood pressure to his face subsided, and proceeded to open his present. It could be seen as something small to many, but it was actually much more than that to him.

It was a small keyring with a handmade cactus attached to it, as well as the card he got which had Isaac Newton on it. Nazz had written a little text to it that had emotion with each syllable;

_Heya, Double D._

_Thank you so much for taking care of me. If you hadn't come, I don't know what I would have done. I've never felt so scared in my life, and lonely. What I had gone through you may be really curious of, so you can just call me anytime if you want to know that badly. Don't worry, I'm fine with it. I'm meeting the counsellor everyday after school for a month to talk about my problems; that is, after I get freed after my punishment._

_At any rate, I know this isn't much, but I hope you will appreciate what I gave you, and remember when you have it that you will always be my friend, no matter what._

_Again, thank you for everything. I can't wait to see you guys again when I return. Seriously dude, my mom is like a raging machine right now. ):_

_Well, see ya soon :)_

_Hugs xxx Nazz_

He felt warm in his chest at that moment. Nazz didn't seem to just try to pursue him, and she could be really emotional when it was required. No doubt, he had a newfound respect for her.

He quickly put away the present, not wanting to brag about that he had just gotten a gift from the most popular girl in school, because he knew by default that they all would be jealous. He wanted to stay humble about it, and so he planned.

Ed and Eddy came back shortly after, looking sly as if they knew something he didn't. Then they chuckled out loud and taunting him about their relationship, because apparently, they could never let go of their infantile tendencies as well as the urge to eavesdrop on every single detail in his life.

But for some reason, this time, he didn't feel hot and bothered about it, to their dismay in want to make him deny anything and everything they had said. Oh well, some things always backfired at least once in a lifetime.

Their talk escalated into something else entirely, Ed of his monster movie marathon he had during the weekend (and complained they didn't come to join him), and Eddy about other stuff he seemed interested in nowadays.

But Edd's mind was not present.

He knew by now why he had been so curious about Nazz's incident.

He really did care for her as a good friend, as much as he cared for the other cul-de-sac kids, but they had a special bonding after it happened. Not necessarily romantic, but it was one of a kind.

Double D smiled absently as he watched his two friends quarrel about something associated with science fiction movies and how they should have more chicks in them, obviously mixed opinions from each.

Why had he been complaining so much about his life earlier?

It was actually quite nice.

* * *

**A/N: Did you like? :) It was a little sappy towards the end, I know, but HECK I CAN BE SAPPY IF I WANT! *PASSIONATE CRY***

**Please leave a review, I love when I get them! I will always answer every single one of you if you do :)**

**On a side note, yes, this is how the Eds will look like when they're teens in my fanfics :) I'm allowed to have my own imagination right? And despite it going against my childhood view, I'll always stick to the fact that Double D is a blondie XD I dunno why, but it would actually make him cuter.**

**I'm going to Croatia soon, it's gonna be awesome. Have a nice, warm summer you too!**


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